Validation service portal for wireless location management

ABSTRACT

A method, system, and medium are provided for validating the identity or authority of a user of a wireless device to consent to providing geographic locations of their respective wireless device to a third-party application. Upon receiving a request to validate the authority of a user to consent to providing of geographic locations, the user is automatically redirected to a validation service portal. The validation service portal verifies the identity or authority of the user to consent by requiring the user to provide identification information. The identification information is compared to identification information in one or more databases to determine if the user has the authority to consent. An indication is provided by the validation service portal to the third-party application of whether the user has the authority to consent. The third-party application then initiates location-based services based on the indication.

BACKGROUND

Wireless devices and associated network components are often able todetermine a geographic location of the wireless device. Various methodssuch as Global Positioning System (GPS), triangulation, or userself-reported location can be employed to determine the geographiclocation of a wireless device. Services can then be provided to a userof the wireless device that require the use of the wireless device'sgeographic location. As the user self-reported location may beunreliable or burdensome for a user to keep up to date it does notprovide adequate results. The geographic location of the wireless deviceprovided by GPS or triangulation can be more reliable then in theproviding of location-based services. However, users often have concernsover the sharing the geographic location of their wireless devices withthird parties that provide location-based services.

SUMMARY

The invention is defined by the claims below. A high-level overview ofembodiments of the invention is provided here for that reason, toprovide an overview of the disclosure. In a first embodiment, a methodof validating the identity of a user of a wireless device to establishthat the user is an authorized user under a service agreement for thewireless device is provided. The method comprises receiving a requestfrom a third-party application to validate the identity of the user ofthe wireless device, wherein the third-party application requires theuse of a geographic location for the wireless device and consent of theuser to utilize said geographic location. In turn, identificationinformation is received from the user and compared to knownidentification information for the user. An indication is provided tothe third-party application that the user is an authorized user underthe service agreement of the wireless device when the receivedidentification information is substantially similar to the knownidentification information for the user. An indication is provided to athird-party application that the user is not an authorized user underthe service agreement of the wireless device when the receivedidentification information differs from the known identificationinformation for the user.

In a second embodiment, computer-readable media are provided for storingcomputer executable instructions for performing a method of validatingthe authority of a user to consent to providing geographic locations ofa wireless device to a third-party application. The method comprisesreceiving a request from a user to initiate a third-party application,said third-party application requiring geographic location of a wirelessdevice. The user is directed to a validation service portal to determinewhether the user has authority to consent to the providing geographiclocations associated with the wireless device to the third-partyapplication. The third-party application is initiated if the user hasauthority to consent.

In a third embodiment, a system is provided according to an embodimentof the embodiment. The system comprises a wireless device configured toinitiate a request for location-based services. A third-partyapplication is configured to provide location-based services to the userof a wireless device, said services requiring the usage of thegeographic location of the wireless device. A validation component isconfigured to validate the identity of a user of the wireless device todetermine if the user has authority to consent to the providinggeographic locations to the third-party application component. Acommunications network provides communication between the third-partyapplication component and the validation component.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail belowwith reference to the attached drawing figures, which are incorporatedby reference herein and wherein:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary network system in accordance with anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary screen shot of a user interface, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary screen shot of a user interface, accordingto an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 depicts a flow diagram for initiating a third-party applicationin accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 depicts a flow diagram for validating the identity of a user of awireless device in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 6 depicts a flow diagram for validating the authority of a user toconsent to the providing of geographic location describing the locationof a wireless device to a third-party application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention provide systems, computer-readable media,and methods for validating the identity of a user of a wireless deviceto ensure that the user has authority to consent to release ofgeographic locations of the wireless device to third-party applications.After a user with authority consents, third-party applications can thenuse the geographic location to provide location-based services to theuser of the wireless device. A validation service portal is used toverify the identity of the user and determine whether the user hasauthority to consent to release of geographic locations associated withthe wireless device to the third-party applications.

Embodiments of the invention may include, among other things: a method,system, or computer-program product. Accordingly, the embodiments maytake the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or anembodiment combining software and hardware. In one embodiment, theinventions takes the form of a computer-program product that includescomputer-useable instructions embodied on one or more computer-readablemedia.

Computer-readable media include both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and nonremovable media, and contemplates media readable by adatabase, a switch, and various other network devices. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer-readable media comprise mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storing information.Examples of stored information include computer-useable instructions,data structures, program modules, and other data representations. Mediaexamples include, but are not limited to information-delivery media,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile discs (DVD), holographic media or other optical discstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage, andother magnetic storage devices. These technologies can store datamomentarily, temporarily, or permanently.

Turning now to FIG. 1, a depiction of a wireless system 100 ispresented, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Thewireless system 100 includes communication network 102, which may be anytype of network as known in the art, such as, but not limited to, theInternet, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), or a wide areanetwork (WAN). As such networks are well known in the art, no furtherdescription will be provided. Base stations 104 and 106 arecommunicatively connected to the communication network 102 and providefor the communication between the wireless devices 110, 112, and 114 andthe network 102 and, in turn, the wireless provider 108. Additionally,the wireless provider 108 may communicatively coupled to either or bothof the base stations 104 and 106. While multiple wireless devices 110,112, and 114 are depicted in FIG. 1, further mention will only be madeto wireless device 112 for the sake of clarity. Third-party application117 and validation service portal 116 are communicatively connected tothe network 102, as well.

Wireless provider 108 can be any wireless service provider that provideswireless communication services to a user of wireless device 112. Thewireless service can be provided under the terms of a service agreementbetween the user of a wireless device 112 and the wireless provider 108.The service agreement can specify the types of wireless services thatwill be provided to the user through their respective wireless device.The service agreement can also provide information that serves toidentify both the user and the wireless device. The information can alsoinclude identification information on a plurality of users associatedwith one or more wireless devices, all of which are served by a singleservice agreement. In this manner, only certain users may have theauthority to consent to the providing of geographic locations associatedwith the wireless device 112 to third-party application 117.

Validation service portal 116 provides for the determination of theidentity of a user of a wireless device 112, and in turn the authorityof the user to consent to the providing of geographic location for thewireless device 112 to a third-party application 117. Validation serviceportal 116 may also be referred to as a privacy consent web portal. Asdescribed above, different users under a single service agreement mayhave differing levels of authority. In those instances, the validationservice portal 116 can require additional information from the user toparticularly differentiate the user from the other users served underthe single service agreement. The additional information could includeportions of personally identifiable information, such as portions of auser's social security number, a user's driver's license number, or auser's date of birth. In some embodiments, personally identifiableinformation can be used to identify a user to the validation serviceportal 116 without use of the wireless device number.

For the remainder of the detailed description, it will be assumed thatonly one user is a party to the service agreement, and that once theidentity of the user is verified, the authority of the user to consentto providing of geographic locations of the wireless device 112 tothird-party applications 117 is thereby established. In other words,once the identity of the user is verified, the user is known to possessthe requested authority to consent to the release of geographiclocations for their respective device to third-party applications 117.

The validation service portal 116 can be administered by the wirelessprovider 108 and communicate with the wireless provider 108 over thenetwork 102. Additionally, while the validation service portal 116 isshown in FIG. 1 as being separate from the wireless provider 108, thevalidation service portal 116 can be located within the wirelessprovider 108.

Third-party application 117 can be any application that uses thegeographic location of the wireless device 112 to provide location-basedservices to the wireless device 112, and in turn to a user of saiddevice. These services can be, for instance, mapping services,friend-locator services that let users keep track of their friend'slocation, or any other application that provides services based on thegeographic location of the wireless device.

Wireless devices 112 can be defined as a plurality of types of devices,such as: cell phones, smart phones, PDAs, or any other computing devicethat is capable of wireless communication. This definition includeslaptop computers that have wireless communication capabilities.

While only two base stations 104 and 106 and three wireless devices 110,112, and 114 are depicted, it should be understood that a multitude ofbase stations and wireless devices may be utilized according toembodiments of the embodiment. The simplified depiction of the wirelesssystem 100 in FIG. 1 is provided to aid in the understanding of theconcepts of embodiments of the embodiment and is not intended to belimiting in nature.

Wireless device 112 includes an input component 118, an output component120, a processor component 122, a storage component 126, and a wirelessinput/output (I/O) component 124. Input component 118 provides for theinput of information in the wireless device 112. Input component 118 cantake the form of a keypad, microphone, keyboard, selection device,mouse, track ball, or any other forms that provides for the input ofinformation into the wireless device.

Output component 120 provides for the output of information from thewireless device 112. Output component 120 can take the form ofcomponents for the output of visual, audible, vibratory, or other formsof information. Visual forms of the output component 120 can take theform of an LCD display, plasma display, or any other display method thatprovides for the presentation of visual information to a user of thewireless device 112.

Processor component 122 provides computer processing functionality forthe wireless device 112. Processor component 122 serves to control thefunctioning of the wireless device 112 and the functioning of thecomponents that make up the wireless device 112.

Storage component 126 provides for the storage of information on thewireless device 112. It can take the form of a hard disk drive,differing types of computer memory, or any other suitable computerstorage media. Common to all types of storage components 126 is theability to store computer executable instructions.

Wireless I/O component 124 provides for the communication of wirelessdevice 112 with the network 102 through base stations 104 and 106.Wireless I/O component 124 can take many forms, such as a receiver andtransmitting module, for the reception of radio frequency waves andgeneration of the same. Common to all forms of wireless I/O 124components is the ability to send and receive communications wirelessly.

With reference now to FIG. 2, an exemplary screen shot of a userinterface is depicted, in accordance with an embodiment of theembodiment. User interface 202 is a typical embodiment of an outputcomponent of a wireless device. Alert 204 can be presented at the userinterface 202 of the wireless device when a user has attempted toinitiate a location-based service provided by a third-party application.Upon receiving the request to initiate the location-based service, thethird-party application communicates to the wireless device the alert204 to present to the user of the wireless device through the outputcomponent. The alert 204 serves to solicit an affirmative or negativeresponse from the user as to whether they desire to launch thethird-party application. A user can provide an affirmative response byselecting the affirmative response button 206, or can provide a negativeresponse by selecting the negative response button 208. The user caneffectuate these selections through the input component on the wirelessdevice. Once the response is received by the wireless device, it can becommunicated to the base stations through the communications network tothe third-party application. Upon receiving an affirmative response, thethird-party application can direct the user interface of the wirelessdevice to the validation service portal. This direction can occurautomatically, without any further action required of the user of thewireless device.

Disclaimer 210 serves to notify the user of the wireless device that thegeographic location of the wireless device is required for theapplication. This can aid the user in deciding whether they desire toprovide an affirmative or negative response. The content of thedisclaimer 210 can vary considerably, and according to some embodimentsof the invention may not even be utilized by the third-partyapplication.

While specific mention has been made to text-based alerts, other formsare contemplated, such as audio- or video-based alerts. In addition, auser can indicate their response to the alert through an audible inputto the input component, and voice recognition techniques can be utilizedto determine the content of the audible input.

Turning now to FIG. 3, an exemplary screen shot of a user interface isprovided, in accordance with an embodiment of the embodiment. Userinterface 302 is a typical embodiment of an output component of awireless device. The user interface 302 is presented to a user of thewireless device when accessing the validation service portal. Asdescribed above, once an affirmative response is received to launch athird-party application that provides location-based services to a userof wireless device, the user interface of a wireless device can bedirected to a validation service portal.

The validation service portal provides the role of verifying theidentity and therefore the authority of the user to consent to theproviding of geographic location to third-party applications.Unauthorized users are therefore not permitted to consent to theproviding of geographic locations of wireless devices to third-partyapplications. A user would therefore not be able to clandestinelyinitiate the use of a third-party application that provideslocation-based services on a wireless device for which they did not havethe authority to do so.

The validation service portal serves to verify the identity or authorityof the user of the wireless device to consent to the providing ofgeographic locations of the wireless device to a third-partyapplication. The validation service portal accomplishes thisverification by querying the user of the wireless device for informationidentifying the wireless device. In FIG. 3, this can be by way of thequery 307, asking a user to enter the wireless device number into aresponse field 308. The wireless device number could be a telephonenumber associated with the wireless device, or any other number thatwould identify the device, such as a serial number of the device or anIP address of the wireless device.

The information solicited by the query 307 can be of any type thatserves to identify the user to the wireless provider. In the examplesabove, a wireless device telephone number or serial number is providedto validate the identity of the user. In those examples, the numberswould be known by the wireless provider 108 to be associated to aparticular user. The wireless provider 108 would determine thisinformation by consulting any combination of the following: one or moredatabases, user account information, or the service agreement enteredinto between the user and the wireless provider.

Verification query 309 serves to solicit information from the user thatonly the user and the wireless provider 108 would know. In the examplegiven in FIG. 3, verification query 309 solicits the wireless accountpassword from the user. This is information that a user would likelykeep confidential and not share with other users, and would serve as atool to verify the identity of the user. The user can enter theinformation sought by the verification query 309 into the response field310 of the user interface 302. The information solicited by theverification query 309 could also be dynamic. An example of this wouldbe a verification query 309 that requires the user to identify thegeographic location of their wireless device at some point in the past,such as 24 hours. Dynamic information of this type can be used inconjunction with the more static information such as a password toimprove the level of security. Other embodiments of the invention maymake use of only dynamic types of information for the verification query309.

Upon entering the information solicited by the query 307 and theverification query 309 in the response fields 308 and 310, the user canthen select the transmit icon 304 to send the information provided inthe response fields 308 and 310 to the base stations and through thecommunication network to the validation service portal. The validationservice portal then verifies the information received from the wirelessdevice 112 against information contained in one or more databasesmaintained by the wireless provider. As described above, even though thevalidation service portal is shown as separate from the wirelessprovider in FIG. 1, the validation service portal can in fact be part ofand/or operated by the wireless provider 108. Alternatively, the usercan select the cancel icon 306 to end communication with the validationservice portal and decline to provide any information entered into theresponse fields 308 and 310.

If the validation service portal determines that the informationprovided by the wireless device is substantially similar to theinformation contained in one or more databases maintained by thewireless provider 108, an indication will be provided to the third-partyapplication that the user is an authorized user under the serviceagreement of the wireless device. The third-party application willtherefore be permitted to use the geographic location of the wirelessdevice to provide location-based services to the wireless device andassociated user.

When determining if the information provided by the wireless device 112is substantially similar to that contained in the one or more databases,different definitions can be implemented according to embodiments of theinvention. For instance, if the information provided by the wirelessdevice differs only in the proper case of text, such as when theinformation provided by the wireless device is in lower case text whilethe information in the one or more databases contains text in uppercase, the two could be considered to be substantially similar. Thisprovides a compromise to aid the user in inputting the information inthe wireless device, while still maintaining a level of security in theverification process conducted at the validation service portal. Othermethods could be permitted as well, such as only requiring the enteringof truncated information, such as the first five digits of the wirelessdevice number, or the first four characters of the wireless accountpassword. The definition of substantially similar could then bepredefined by the validation service portal, wireless provider, or theunder the terms of the service agreement.

With reference now to FIG. 4, a flow diagram is depicted of a method forinitiating a third-party application in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention. At block 410 when a request is received to initiate athird-party application. This request could be generated in response tothe user seeking to launch a third-party application that provideslocation-based services. Additionally, it could be generated upon theissuance of an affirmative response as discussed in relation to FIG. 2,above. The request to initiate a third-party application can be receivedat the wireless provider, third-party application, validation serviceportal, or the wireless device.

Upon receiving the request detailed in block 410, a determination willbe made by the validation service portal at block 420 of whether theauthority of the user to consent to the providing of geographic locationfor their respective wireless device has previously been verified. Todetermine if the authority to consent has been verified previously, oneor more databases maintained by the wireless provider can be consulted.Additionally, this information could be stored by the third-partyapplication, validation service portal, or wireless device. Theinformation could be in the form of a token or cookie, as is known inthe art.

If the authority of the user to consent to the providing of geographiclocation for the wireless device has previously been verified, themethod proceeds to block 425 and the location-based services provided bythe third-party application are initiated. In these instances, themethod can appear transparent to a user of the wireless device.

If the authority of the user to consent has not previously beenverified, or if it has previously been determined that the user did nothave the authority to consent, the authority of the user to consent toproviding of geographic locations of the wireless device is determinedin block 430. This can be accomplished through the use of the validationservice portal, as described in detail in relation to FIG. 3.

The method proceeds to block 440, where if it was determined in block430 that user had authority to consent, the location-based servicesprovided by the third-party application are subsequently initiated inblock 425. If, however, the user did not have authority to consent, themethod proceeds to block 450 where the location-based services of thethird-party application are not permitted to initiate.

Turning now to FIG. 5, a depiction of a flow diagram for validating theidentity of a user of a wireless device in accordance with an embodimentof the invention is provided. In block 510 when a request is receivedfrom a third-party application to validate the identity of a user of awireless device. The third-party application can require the use ofinformation defining the geographic location of the wireless device andthe consent of the user to utilize the information.

In block 520, identification information is received from the user inthe validation service portal. The identification information can bereceived in the same manner as that described in relation to FIG. 3,above.

The received identification information is compared to knownidentification information for the user in block 530. The knownidentification information for the user can be stored in one or moredatabases maintained by the wireless provider. The validation serviceportal can consult those databases to compare the receivedidentification information in block 520 to the known identificationinformation contained in the databases. This permits the validationservice portal to determine if the user of the wireless device has theauthority to consent to the providing of geographic location for thewireless device to the third-party application. For instance, a user isrequested to provide their wireless device number and wireless accountpassword. The validation service portal then compares that informationto that contained in the one or more databases. The databases couldcontain an entry for each wireless device number. For that entry,additional information could be stored, such as a wireless accountpassword, date of birth of the user, or identifying information. Bycomparing the wireless account password provided by the user tovalidation service portal to the wireless account password correspondingto the wireless device number provided by the user, the validationservice portal can verify the identity of the user and establish theirauthority to consent. For example, if the wireless account passwordsmatch, or are substantially similar as defined above, the user can bedeemed to have authority to consent.

At block 540, an indication is provided to the third-party applicationthat the user is an authorized user under the service agreement of thewireless device when the received identification information issubstantially similar to the known identification information for theuser. The indication can be referred to as a redirections command andcan take the form of one or more characters in a header, or any otherform of communication to the third-party application. Additionally, theuser can be redirected by the validation service portal to thethird-party application after the successful verification in block 530.Included in the redirection command issued by the validation serviceportal can be the indication that the user is an authorized user underthe service agreement and is authorized to consent to the release ofgeographic information to the third-party application.

In block 550, an indication is provided to the third-party applicationby the validation service portal that the user is not an authorized userunder the service agreement of the wireless device when the receivedidentification information is not substantially similar to the knownidentification information for the user. As in block 540, the indicationcan take the form of one or more characters in a header, or any otherform of communication to the third-party application.

With reference now to FIG. 6, a flow diagram is depicted for validatingthe authority of a user to consent to providing of geographic locationsof a wireless device to a third-party application in accordance with anembodiment of the invention. In block 610 the receiving of a requestfrom a user to initiate location-based services provided by athird-party application. The third-party application can require the useof geographic location for the wireless device to provide location-basedservices to the user. The request can be received when users confirmtheir desire to initiate the location-based services provided by thethird-party application. Alternatively, the request to initiatelocation-based services can be communicated to the, without theintermediate confirmatory process described in FIG. 2.

At block 620, the user is directed to a validation service portal todetermine the authority of the user to consent to the providing ofgeographic locations associated with the wireless device to thethird-party application. The validation service portal verifies theidentity of a user of a wireless device as being associated with thewireless device to establish that the user has authority to consent.

In block 630, the location-based services provided by the third-partyapplication are initiated based on the determination by the validationservice portal. If the validation service portal determines that a userhas the necessary authority to consent to the providing of geographiclocations, an indication can be communicated to the third-partyapplication over the communication network through base stations. If thevalidation service portal determines that the user does not haveauthority to consent to the providing of geographic locations, anindication of such can be communicated to the third-party application inthe same manner.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the spiritand scope of the embodiment. Embodiments of the invention have beendescribed with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive.Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the artthat do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisan may developalternative means of implementing the aforementioned improvementswithout departing from the scope of the embodiment.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Notall steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in thespecific order described.

The invention claimed is:
 1. One or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media for storing computer executable instructions forperforming a method of validating the authority of a user to consent tothe providing of geographic location describing the location of awireless device to a third-party application, the method comprising:receiving a request from a user to initiate a third-party application,said third-party application requiring geographic location of a wirelessdevice; directing the user to a validation service portal to determinethe authority of the user to consent to the providing of geographiclocation associated with the wireless device to the third-partyapplication, wherein the third-party application redirects the userautomatically to the validation service portal upon receiving a requestto initiate the third-party application; issuing one or more queries tothe user for information to identify the user and the wireless devicevia the validation service portal, wherein the one or more queriesissued to the user require information that verifies the authority ofthe user to consent to the providing of geographic location for thewireless device to third-party applications; comparing the informationreceived from the user in response to the issued queries to knowninformation stored in a database having a service agreement for theuser; determining whether the user has authority to consent to theproviding of geographic location for the wireless device to third-partyapplications based on the comparing of the information received from theuser in response to the issued queries to the known information; andinitiating the third-party application based on the determination by thevalidation service portal.
 2. The media of claim 1, wherein thegeographic location of the wireless devices defines the geographiclocation of the wireless device within a predefined accuracy.
 3. Themedia of claim 1, further comprising upon receiving a request forinitiation of a third-party application requiring geographic locationfor the wireless device, determining if the authority of the user toconsent to providing of said geographic location has previously beenverified.
 4. The media of claim 1, wherein when the authority of theuser to consent has previously been verified, initiating the third-partyapplication.
 5. The media of claim 3, wherein when the authority of theuser to consent has not previously been verified, automaticallyredirecting the user to the validation service portal.
 6. Acomputer-implemented method of validating the identity of a user of awireless device to establish that the user is authorized under a serviceagreement for wireless device, the method comprising: receiving arequest from a user to initiate a third-party application, saidthird-party application requiring geographic location of a wirelessdevice; directing the user to a validation service portal to determinethe authority of the user to consent to the providing of geographiclocation associated with the wireless device to the third-partyapplication, wherein the third-party application redirects the userautomatically to the validation service portal upon receiving a requestto initiate the third-party application; issuing one or more queries tothe user for information to identify the user and the wireless devicevia the validation service portal, wherein the one or more queriesissued to the user require information that verifies the authority ofthe user to consent to the providing of geographic location for thewireless device to third-party applications; comparing the informationreceived from the user in response to the issued queries to knowninformation stored in a database having a service agreement for theuser; determining whether the user has authority to consent to theproviding of geographic location for the wireless device to third-partyapplications based on the comparing of the information received from theuser in response to the issued queries to the known information; andinitiating the third-party application based on the determination by thevalidation service portal.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thegeographic location of the wireless devices defines the geographiclocation of the wireless device within a predefined accuracy.
 8. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising upon receiving a request forinitiation of a third-party application requiring geographic locationfor the wireless device, determining if the authority of the user toconsent to providing of said geographic location has previously beenverified.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein when the authority of theuser to consent has previously been verified, initiating the third-partyapplication.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein when the authority ofthe user to consent has not previously been verified, automaticallyredirecting the user to the validation service portal.